What’s On My Reading List for Fall 2016

Summer in Florida is like winter in the northern part of the country – we don’t go out unless its to someplace air-conditioned or wet. But with Gulf temperatures currently around 90 degrees (a total incubator for hurricanes) beach trips are out for now.

I’m using this time to plan ahead for the academic year (which for parents of school age children begins in August.) I’m also determined to read with intention and track my progress (hello bullet journal) so that I don’t wind up with half-read books on my Kindle or nightstand.

This is a classic, meaty book on prayer that I wish I’d read years ago. In all my years in the evangelical world I did not start to hear of spiritual disciplines until the last few years when we began to attend a Methodist church. It’s like a light got turned on and I can’t get enough of the subject. I’ve found this book best to be taken in small doses and reflected on because the insights are so powerful.

Another book that I really should have read years ago, considering the amount of time I’ve spent in recovery rooms but I heard negative things in some circles so I never read it. At the beginning of my recovery journey, I was really too self-centered to really be considered a co-dependent but after 25 years of parenting and especially as a special needs mom, I can really see now where it’s become a big issue for me.

This is a subject close to every special needs mom or person who is struggling with chronic illness. We just aren’t invited to everything because people just don’t know how to respond to our kids. Or maybe we’re invited to things but can’t get to all of them because of our illness and our kids wind up feeling left out (mom guilt.) This is going to be released on August 9.

In 25 years of being around the homeschooling community I’ve become pretty burned out books from the “godly family” genre after numerous hurts and poor behavior I’ve witnessed around me. But I’ve come to realize that that was a wrong attitude on my part. Motherhood is a lifelong mission, even after the kids have grown. And having two special learners who are going to need our support for awhile longer, it’s important for me to parent from a place of grace, not stress and work toward a home of belonging, not stress (admittedly, a tall order many days but not a reason to give up.)

One of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp writes of finding abundance and wholeness beyond the brokenness. This is an ongoing theme in my life of recovery and disability and I’ll look forward to reading it when it’s released on October 25, 2016.

(The above are Amazon affiliate links. They do not affect your purchase price, but I get a small commission for recommending them. Thanks for your support!)

A lot of these books I have read or want to read. I am in the process of reading The Life Giving Home and am really enjoying it. I wish I would of had it when my kids were younger. They are now teenagers! I also have read Codependent No More and found it useful. I want to read Uninvited next. Ive read many of her books. Thanks for sharing!